Atlas: A Tale of Five Wizards
by TheRealEvanSG
Summary: A pop star, a rebellious perv, an assassin, a karate master, and a shy-but-adventurous kid. They all lived vastly different lives in different corners of Earth, but they all have one thing in common: they disappeared at exactly the same time and date. Now, Samwise Kirkland wakes up in a mysterious world full of magic, without any memories... Book 1 of a series. OC/OC
1. Curiouser and Curiouser

**August 4th, Eastern Ohio, 8:28 A.M.**

It was early in the morning, and a cool fog still clung to the trees like a lifeline. The forest was already teeming with hidden life; there was the howl of coyotes hunting their prey, the songs of early-to-rise birds, a rustle of dried leaves as a family of deer bounded over a rotting log. The sharp aroma of pine trees mixed with that of wildflowers and the unpleasant stank of a skunk.

_Stank of a skunk, _Samwise Kirkland mused, grinning. _Hey! That rhymes! Sort of._

He stepped on an unfortunate spider without knowing it.

The teen didn't actually go by Samwise. Nah, that was the name of one of the Hobbits in his father's favorite book series, _The Lord of the Rings_. It was a great trilogy but nonetheless gave him an embarrassing name. Instead, he signed all his papers as "Sam," without the "wise." Everyone had called him that since kindergarten. Well, when they weren't making fun of him, which wasn't very often.

That was why he was out here, in the forest behind his house. He liked animals much better than other people. Animals, he'd found, wouldn't betray you... except for spiders. Those little buggers were never to be trusted.

Sam pushed deeper into the forest.

Okay, he wasn't spending one of the last Monday mornings of summer here for that reason alone. Last night, his dad had told him a story over dinner. Before the American settlers came and claimed the land, the American Indians populated the area. There were many legends stemming from those times, but one in particular caught Dad's eye. The old Indians apparently thought that a hole in the ground just a few miles from Sam's home was holy - - early cave writing perfectly depicted the spot, and a scroll locked in an ornate wooden box said that the hole, now called Old Man's Shaft, led to a place of magic and wonder.

Of course, it was highly unlikely that was real. Geologists had scanned the area and reported that the Shaft definitely had a concrete bottom. Perhaps not literally concrete, but you know. A definite bottom located on EARTH.

Even so, there was still some mystery regarding Old Man's Shaft. Every year, at least one team of cavers went out to it. Most of them were never seen again, and those that were babbled insanely about dragons and evil wizards and people becoming enslaved to raise said evil wizard once more. Naturally, the officials decided the cave was filled with a hallucinatory, possibly poisonous gas and declared it unsafe.

Sam's dad didn't think so.

Sam's dad was also of American Indian decent.

So, in a nutshell, the teen was here to prove everybody wrong. He wanted to find out whether Old Man's Shaft really was some sort of portal. It sounded like a fantastic adventure, and although he was fourteen, Sam had never quite grown out of the dreaming-about-adventures phase. And thus, he found himself trekking through the lush forest, lugging all the equipment one would need to repel down a 400-foot rock wall. He probably wouldn't need all 400 feet of rope, but it never hurt to be safe.

"Wait until I find that world of magic," Sam laughed. "Maybe I'll befriend a wizard. Maybe I'll become a wizard myself! Ha! Dumb old Jimmy would never be able to make fun of me again! If he did, I'd introduce him to... to... a horde of ten thousand dragons! Ha! Ha... Ha. I thought I'd be there by now... haven't I been walking for almost an hour?"

A branch whipped him in the nose. He stumbled forward, sputtering indignantly.

"Ow!" Sam complained, nursing his now-red nose. He rubbed away the momentary pain, and when he looked in front of him again, he saw a small hole in the ground.

It was about twelve feet wide, enough for two adults to lay horizontally across it. It was dark; incredibly dark, as if it had eaten up all the daylight and sent it to oblivion. There was a strange, unwelcoming air to it. As Sam stared, a squirrel darted out towards the hole like it was going to attempt a suicide jump, but suddenly stopped barely a foot away. Then it spirited itself away.

This was it.

Sam swallowed. Old Man's Shaft was creepier than he'd imagined. How deep was it, if it was that dark?

He shrugged aside his unease and went to work. First, he slipped off his green backpack of supplies and pulled out a small hammer and a tent pin. He hammered the pin firmly into the ground. Next, Sam replaced the hammer with a long coil of rope and looped it through the pin, tying a knot tight enough to make a Boy Scout jealous. He wrapped the other end of the rope around his waist and again tied the same knot, and then winced. It felt like he'd accidentally cut off blood circulation.

Well, it was better to cut off circulation than to fall out of the rope.

Sam made sure he had a flashlight, firmly gripped the rope, tugged on it a few times to make sure the tent pin wasn't going anywhere, and finally began to walk backwards to the edge of the Shaft.

For a few seconds, he just stood there, with his heels hanging in space but the balls of his feet planted firmly on the ground. Sam gulped and wondered if this was a good idea after all. Nervously, he took his first step into the yawning abyss. He was now hanging on the wall of Old Man's Shaft, like he was rock climbing with no hands, but the taut rope kept him in place. He sighed in relief and descended several more feet.

After about ten minutes, Sam was starting to get the hang of it. He was now repelling a good fifteen feet with each step, though he did wonder how much deeper he would have to go. After all, he had to be running out of rope! He was surprised he'd made it this far, actually.

_Well, _Sam thought with a grin,_ at least the rope hasn't broken!__ I passed some pretty sharp rocks..._

Perhaps he shouldn't have thought that.

There was an audible SNAP!, and the rope suddenly went slack. Sam's upper body, which had previously been supported by the rope, quickly fell, carrying his legs and feet with it.

With a shout of surprise and terror, Samwise Kirkland tumbled into the darkness.

* * *

**August 5th, off the coast of Kamakura, Japan, 6:37 P.M.  
**

Alanji Welwood stared up at the ceiling of her parents' yacht. The boat bobbed up and down on the waves, but she wasn't enjoying the view above deck like she should've been. And would've been, if it had been any other evening.

Too bad that this morning, her parents had dropped the worst bombshell a parent could. (Besides an actual bomb, of course.)

She was adopted.

Alanji had always suspected she was different from them. She didn't look even remotely like them; her blonde hair was unnatural for a true Japanese. Also, Japanese stuff just didn't come as easily to Alanji as the rest of the kids in her school. She did, however, excel in English and (strangely enough) German. She thought her fellow students were cool and colorful, but just couldn't fit in, no matter how many friends she made. Her fame didn't help matters much; she was the lead singer of a band so good, at least four or five of their songs were featured as anime openings/endings. Not that she really understood the appeal of anime.

Even her last name was a hint. _Welwood_ was not her parent's last name, because Dad was a true Japanese. They had claimed it was her grandparents' on her mother's side; Mom was an American immigrant who had flown overseas to design video games for Nintendo. Mom's parents had died just a year before Alanji was born, and they had allegedly put down her last name as _Welwood_ in honor of them. That made no sense, though. And after she'd done a little research this morning, Alanji found out that her grandparents were still alive and happy. And currently off on some archaeological dig in South India. (They were still going strong, despite being almost eighty years old.)

There was a particularly violent rock of the boat, causing a golden pigtail to fall in her face. Alanji huffed and brushed it away.

Her phone buzzed. She blinked and looked down at it to see a message from her drummer, Suzumiya Yuki.

_You okay, Alanji?_ Yuki had texted. _I only just got your text a few minutes ago. Dude, that sucks! And hey, your parents do know that there's supposed to be a major storm out there, right?_

A major storm? There hadn't even been the slightest of showers.

Even as Alanji thought that, rain pattered against her porthole window. She looked out it in surprise, only to see the sky darkening and the waves getting larger.

The door to her room opened.

"Ali!" her mom - - no, wait, _adoptive_ mom - - called, poking her head in. "There's a storm coming. A really large one."

Alanji grinned. She had always loved the forces of nature. Besides, even though she had just found out something life-changing, she couldn't be mad at Mom and Dad forever. She rushed past her mom and up the stairs to the deck, saying, "I'll be up here if you need me!"

"But, honey, it's dangerous!"

Too late. The pop idol was already grasping the smooth metal railing, leaning out over the choppy seas with excitement. And boy, were they choppy! With each passing minute, the waves grew anywhere from half a foot to a full twelve inches. The wind was picking up rapidly, howling as it ripped across the motorized yacht. The sky was now completely overcast, covered in black cotton balls that expelled buckets of rain each second. Alanji whooped, reveling in the thrill that came with being on the open sea in the middle of a potentially dangerous storm.

(She was a bit of a thrill-seeker.)

But something was wrong. Suddenly, the ocean bulged and started to curl upward. Water built itself into a high wall that easily passed the height of the deck, then the roof of the living quarters. As Alanji's eyes grew wider, and her wide grin changed to a gaping _O_ of shock, the massive wave crested mere feet from their ship, which was a dwarf in comparison.

The last thing she tasted was a mouthful of saltwater. Then there was a sharp impact on the back of her head, and Alanji blacked out.

* * *

**August 5th, Chicago, 7:38 A.M.**

_Breathe in, breathe out. Don't think about the target as a living person. Pretend you're not aiming a perfectly loaded and perfectly deadly sniper rifle at the current President of the United States. Pretend you're pointing a water gun at a mannequin. Breathe in, breathe out._

Leanne Malone, better known to the criminal underworld as "Black Raven," decided it was hopeless.

Her hands shook as her finger hovered over the gun's trigger. She'd received plenty of orders to eliminate all kinds of wealthy people before, and she'd completed the assassinations flawlessly. Who would suspect a normal-looking, healthy thirteen-and-a-half year old girl to have been behind the shootings of England's richest man, Russia's Secretary of State, and the Egyptian Ambassador, among others? The young teen had pulled off countless missions and had been doing so for years.

Kidnapped by a terrorist organization called MEDUSA at a young age, Leanne had barely had time to live a normal life. She remembered very few details about life outside assassinating. She only knew the gentle touch of a mother, the sibling rivalries with an older brother, the warmth of a father's kind smile, and the joy of birthday parties in fleeting dreams. The most kindness shown to her in recent memory was about five years ago, when one of the terrorists, named James, had momentarily shown pity to her and bought her a Pillow Pet at the local Wal-Mart. He'd gotten a job in the jungles of South America soon after. Nobody had every heard from him again. Since that day, Leanne had had a strange weakness for all things cute... especially pandas.

Even though it was early in the morning, the sun was already shining brightly.

_How ironic,_ Leanne thought.

A gust of wind blew across the rooftop she was currently squatting on. She'd been in Chicago for three days now, scouting out the area for the best vantage point, making sure she had an ideal escape route, and double-checking that she'd gotten the President's destination right - - and the wind had hardly stopped the entire time. Leanne had heard people call it the Windy City before, but had never quite understood how _windy_ it was. It made sharpshooting someone a thousand feet away rather difficult.

Not that she actually enjoyed the barbaric business.

Leanne shuddered at the thought of her bullets piercing President Jackson's skull. _Okay, Lee, calm down,_ she told herself hastily. _You're not killing him, really. You're just... putting him to sleep for a while. Yeah. Putting him to sleep. With a heavy sniper rifle. That will probably puncture his brain and - - Just... calm down. Deep breath. In, out, in, out._

She squinted through the scope to make sure she was on target. Taking into account the strong wind, the added weight of the muffler, the kickback, and the distance of the shot, was it aimed in a spot that would ensure her bullet smashed through President Jackson's skull? A thousand feet away, through the glass window of a medium-sized, modern building, the President, his son, and his entourage of Secret Service agents were enjoying a concert for a new classical music group. Leanne had done her homework and learned that they were listening to a live performance of the soundtrack for the son's favorite video game. A few weeks ago, the White House had received an invitation in the mail from the leader of the group herself.

With tumultuous fingers, she gently pulled the trigger just as the classical band hit their last chord.

The window cracked, but didn't shatter completely. Cries of fear and confusion rose up from the streets below. Leanne tensed. A minute later, men in black suits rushed out of the building in full badass mode, several carrying the limp body of the President. Leanne peered through the sniper rifle's scope and swore. He was clutching his shoulder, pale but alive.

For the first time in her life, she'd missed.

Leanne swore. Quickly, she threw the large rifle down to the floor of the roof and lay flat on her back so she wouldn't be seen. She disassembled the gun - - it was the newest model, able to be broken apart and put back together in less than a minute. The young assassin slipped the pieces into a slick, black, empty violin case (her cover story was that she was a musician from out of town, hoping to get some money to start a band herself, and two of the adult assassins in the terrorist organization acted as her parents).

"Okay, go, go, go!" she hissed to herself.

Leanne scooped the violin case off the cement roof, stood up, and dashed for the door to the stairwell. She threw the heavy door open, heart pounding, adrenaline rushing a hundred miles per hour. As she raced down the stairs, descending floor after empty floor (she had chosen an abandoned office firm), Leanne cursed the name of every god she could think of.

Why, _why_ did she have to miss her one shot today? Her, ahem, "friends" at MEDUSA had promised her freedom if she could complete this last mission. Besides that, they'd also sworn to stay away from her family, whom they'd threatened to kill if she made any attempts to escape. On the flip side, they had told her that if she failed, they would ensure nobody would see them again. And just to make matters interesting, they'd only provided her with one bullet.

_"A tragic accident,"_ they had said. _"It'll be all over the national papers."_

Apparently, her parents were well-respected enthusiasts in technology, and were even selling their own popular video game consoles in a shocking cooperation with both Nintendo and Sony. They had made headlines across the world multiple times. Leanne knew that they were doing everything in their power to find her and rescue her, but so far they had failed.

Finally, she reached the bottom floor. Lugging her heavy "violin" case with her, she pumped her legs like pistons and tore out the door, into the street that was now filled with panicking pedestrians. Cars had had to stop so they wouldn't accidentally run over somebody. People were running about crazily. They might not have heard a gunshot thanks to Leanne's state-of-the-art muffler, but they had definitely heard the window crack, and the Secret Service searching everyone and everything wasn't helping anything. Leanne breathed a deep sigh of relief. Maybe she could use the confusion to sneak in close to the President, use her throwing knives to finish him off. They'd get her for sure, but at least she could spare her family from MEDUSA's inescapable - -

"Hey, you! Freeze, drop the weapon, and put your hands in the air!"

Leanne froze. Icy terror washed down her spine and made her shackles raise on end. Unconsciously, she'd already slipped one of her throwing knives out of her jeans pocket and started to make for the President. It slipped out of her hand along with her violin case and fell with a clang to the street.

Slowly, Leanne turned around.

A row of men in sleek black suits were pointing rifles at her.

_Shit, shit, shit!_ she mentally howled. _I'm screwed!_

The row of Secret Service agents parted, and a man with an impressive pompadour stepped forward. In spite of the situation, Leanne couldn't help but find that hilarious. Didn't he know pompadours had died in the '60s? Only stupid people with too much forehead had them. Despite the whacky hair and lack of a gun, the man was heavily built and broad-shouldered. He looked like he could go a few rounds with a wooly mammoth and barely break a sweat.

"I am the Head of CIA, Fred Johnson," he stated gruffly. "Are you Black Raven?"

Leanne gaped. _Wait, what!? How do they know my codename?_

Well, she could at least confuse them for a moment to think of an escape plan. Thanking MEDUSA for the first time in her life, she used her Foreign Languages training to switch into fluid French: "_Je n'aime pas les corbeaux noirs!_" I don't like black ravens, she'd said.

Agent Pompadour huffed and narrowed his beady eyes. "I don't care whether you like them or not. I'm asking if you are the assassin known as Black Raven, who has coldly killed more than thirty government officials and business executives, as well as Justin Beiber... though I can't say I can really blame you for the last one. Anyway, I've been hunting you for months. Imagine my surprise when I received an anonymous tip that you were in the area, carrying a violin case and probably a knife!"

Leanne's eyes widened. She might have been popular in the criminal underworld, but nobody other than the top members of MEDUSA knew where she was going to be today, or what she looked like, or what she was carrying. That could only mean that they had betrayed her! They had never meant to keep their promise in the first place! Leanne's mind raced. But she was of no use to them locked up in Federal jail. MEDUSA would probably pull some strings and get her out of there, only to basically enslave her for life. Not to mention that her family might as well have been dead already.

A new surge of strength flooded her veins.

_No way!_ she cried mentally. _I can't let them die! I don't even know who they are, but... they're still my family!_

Closing her eyes, she swooped down and blindly scooped up the fallen knife. Cracks of gunfire threatened to break Leanne's eardrums, and there were more shouts from the street. With a shout, she flung the knife in the direction of the President, who was being swiftly carried away by two Secret Service agents. Just as the hilt of the knife brushed the tip of her fingers, a sharp burst of pain ripped through her chest.

The teen assassin cried out in agony.

The knife went spinning out into the street, bouncing harmlessly off a Stop sign but scaring the hell out of quite a few pedestrians.

Defeat washed over her like an ocean of despair.

Her vision was quickly blackening. Her head hit the street.

As she lost consciousness, her last thought was the cruel knowledge that it was all over.

* * *

**August 5th, the Merry Martial Arts Dojo just outside of London, England, 1:22 P.M.  
**

Sweat poured down his face. His breaths came heavily as he winced and groaned. The teen's knuckles were red and sore from too much impact, but he didn't stop or even falter. Instead, Abbey Borkenau whaled on the punching bag even harder.

There was the click of his Sensei snapping shut his stopwatch.

Abbey slumped to the blue mat, panting from the exertion.

"Good work out today," Sensei approved. "You got a real sweat going, Abbey-kun. Keep it up and you'll make this year's Olympics for sure. That triple-kick you performed was amazing!"

The teen gulped for air. "T-Thanks."

The two were the only people in the dojo; it didn't officially open to the public until a few hours later. Abbey was a seventeen-year-old, though his short stature and complete innocence made him look around fourteen. His strawberry blonde hair was styled so that it was curly. He was dressed in a simple, white karate _gi_ \- - the usual martial artist uniform, almost like a kimono but plain and for men. Around his waist was a black belt with ten golden straps of paper wrapped around one end, signifying that he was a tenth degree _Dan_... and that was the highest level you could get in karate. (You pronounced it like _dawn_, not like the name Dan.)

He was currently in training for the next summer Olympics. Thankfully, whoever ran the incredible event had finally decided that karate was a worthy enough sport to add to the list.

Sensei, an old man with white hair, a black _gi_, and only a seventh degree _D__an_, sighed and sat down on the mat beside him.

"Why do you try so hard?" he asked, rubbing his head.

Abbey looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean? If I don't train as hard as I could, I'll never make the Olympics."

"I mean, why do you want to get into them so badly?"

"Oh," the teen said. He frowned and stared at the white wall of the dojo. "Well... when I stumbled upon your dojo a few years ago, I never dreamed I could learn as much as I have. But you never gave up on me, even though I was a total failure at this stuff for the first few months."

The old man snorted. "Ha! You couldn't even earn your yellow belt until your fourth month."

Abbey's laugh was like Sensei's wind chimes. "Yeah, I sucked back then! But you believed in me and gave me the confidence to keep training. Thanks to that, I was able to fend off those delinquents who tried to be all weird with me." (The teen had a rather feminine physique, and was often mistaken for a young and adorable girl. Add to that his innocence and even name, Abbey, and it confused just about everybody who met him.) "I wanted to repay you in some way. When I heard that your business was declining and that martial arts had been listed as an Olympic sport this year, I realized that if I could get the gold, or even just the bronze, the popularity of this dojo would skyrocket. Everybody interested in karate would want to come here!"

"You idiot," Sensei sighed, smiling. Abbey chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the side of his head.

After the teen had caught his breath, he blinked and said, "Hey, wait a minute. Didn't you say something last week about a scroll containing instructions for a secret training technique? One guaranteed to make the user stronger?"

"Well... yes," the old man coughed. "It's an ancient Chinese scroll that I found hidden in a cave years ago, and I keep it in a puzzle box in my office. But it's also very dangerous. Besides, I don't know of anybody in recorded history who has attempted to undergo its methods and succeeded."

Abbey tilted his head. "So how does that make it dangerous?"

"A curse is inscribed upon the scroll: _Anyone who fails this technique shall never know the light of Earth's Ten Suns again._ In Chinese mythology, the world had not one Sun, but ten."

"Weird. So, what, are you gonna show me the scroll?"

The old man's eyes bugged out. "Hell no, Abbey! Are you a _baka_?"

Sensei was Japanese, and he would sometimes slip into his home tongue when emotional.

Abbey turned on his best puppy dog eyes. "Please? I swear I'll be safe!"

Sensei's eye twitched, and he looked like he was doing his best not to give in. But Abbey was a trap through and through, and his puppy dog eyes were deadlier than an army of three hundred Spartans. The old man's will crumbled and he sighed.

"Oh, all right," the seventh degree black belt muttered, standing up and walking to the back of the room, where a desk sat perpendicular to the wall. "I'll show you the scroll. Well, not the original scroll itself. I translated it into English, except for the bottom few lines. They were written in many languages, so I just copied the English-looking version."

As he rummaged through the desk, opening drawers and pulling out random papers, Abbey grinned widely and couldn't help but giggle a little to himself. If he could learn this mysterious technique, then he would be able to repay his debt to Sensei for sure! He tapped his feet against the blue mat anxiously and wiped sweat off his brow. Finally, the old man he had become good friends with came back, waving an ancient piece of faded parchment with elegantly scripted cursive on it.

Abbey blinked. "Why does it look like it was written in Camelot?" he asked.

Sensei laughed awkwardly. "Well, actually, I just felt like it should be more mysterious than it was."

"Oh."

He handed it to Abbey, who held it in both hands and started reading it excitedly. It said:

_Only the greatest Karate Master shall achieve the reward this technique brings. __Only those with a Heart moste Pure shall receive this reward.  
__Choosing the hardest path reaps the most rewards.  
__The Path ahead is a road filled with both Darkness and Joy.  
__Say the following sentences aloud:_

_Luo sym evigi  
__Flesreh Cigam dnas dogeth ot  
__Ytefas eht erusnell iwi  
__Tfig eht tuohtiw llafo_

Abbey gaped. "Those lines looked like English to you?"

"Well, they were written perfectly in our alphabet. I figured that they were in some kind of code that I couldn't decipher. Or perhaps they were just simply meant to be read like that."

The teen martial artist wondered how the Ancient Chinese knew the modern English alphabet. Writing it off as Marco Polo's fault, he shrugged and started chanting the four strange lines. As he did so, he felt a tingle in the back of his neck and an almost irresistible urge to scratch it. He was able to ignore it for the most part at first, but as he got closer and closer to the last word, the itchiness and tingly feeling grew. Abbey pouted as he read the paragraph. The itchiness was spreading from the small of his back to his entire being. He desperately wanted to relieve the annoying feeling. He spoke the last word almost as a shout - - "LLAFO!"

The itchiness stopped, although the tingly feeling was still there.

"I'm not really sure how that was supposed to help you become stronger," Sensei deadpanned. "It sounded like a bunch of gibberish."

Abbey nodded, rubbing his head. "And it was just a bunch of words, no instructions other than to read a few lines."

They sat there awkwardly for a few beats, not really sure what to do.

"I don't really know what I was expecting to happen," Sensei said.

Abbey uncrossed his legs and stood up without using his hands. He was rather short and had only had one growth spurt, back when he was in seventh grade. "Well, I guess it's time for me to leave, then," he said, smiling even though the Chinese method clearly hadn't worked at all. He bowed to the old man politely.

The old man bowed back. "_Sayonara_," he said distractedly.

The almost adorably feminine boy started to walk to the door, still wearing his karate _gi_. He would change when he got home. But as he neared the door, the itchiness returned, this time more intense than before. The tingly feeling was a lot stronger, too. Abbey frowned and scratched his arm, but it didn't help any. It was almost like every molecule of his body was being vibrated back and forth at incredible speeds.

Had his Sensei watched him leave, he would've noticed that his young student's body was starting to fade. But he was busy examining the scroll, which Abbey had returned to him, to make sure they hadn't missed anything.

And then, quite suddenly, Abbey Borkenau simply wasn't there.

* * *

**August 5th, Behrensville, Germany, 10:46 P.M.  
**

The night was dark, silent, and peaceful. Nestled in between two medium-sized mountains, the villagers enjoyed some isolation from the rest of the world and kept to themselves, and it was late at night anyway. Nearly everyone in the small town of Behrensville was sleeping, except for one person.

Tyrone Ruth was in his family's barn, milking the cows.

The Ruths lived just outside the main town on a small farm that Mr. Ruth's father had passed down to him. The Ruths had owned the farm for generations past and would own it for generations to come, if Mr. Ruth had anything to say about it. Unfortunately, Tyrone hated farming.

"Why," he grunted, "do I have to be up milking these dumb old cows!? Can't they just hold it in until the morning?"

Scratch that. Tyrone _despised_ farming.

And he was damn tired.

Did we mention he hated farming?

"I - - hate - - farming," Tyrone said, milking the cow harder with each word.

The cow mooed in admonishment.

The boy scowled. "Shut up."

The cow mooed louder, but this time it was more like a _WHAT THE HELL!?_ kinda thing. The other animals in the barn, like horses and chickens, woke up and started freaking out, too. Soon the barn was filled with the various panicked sounds of farm animals. Tyrone scowled and looked up to yell at them all some more, but what he saw out the cow's window made him stop and stare.

A giant meteorite was falling to Earth, blazing worse than a bonfire for dragons.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" he yelled, his jaw dropping to the ground. He definitely hadn't heard anything about a meteorite falling in this area, or in any area, lately! It was burning so brightly, it was almost a mini Sun, lighting up the mountains and village like daylight. Tyrone had to look away. It was hurting his eyes too much to look at it for long.

_BOOM!_

The impact shook the countryside. The teen lost his balance and fell over, accidentally putting his hand in a pile of cow manure.

"Shit," he mumbled rather ironically.

Tyrone wiped his crappy hand off on his jeans, then wondered what he should do. There was no way people hadn't woken up from that massive impact. It had been an earthquake from space! Someone was going to find that giant hunk of space junk sooner or later, and he'd heard that some meteor chunks could sell for hundreds or even thousands of euros.

Well, first come, first serve.

Tyrone guessed that it had fallen somewhere on the other side of the mountain.

"What was that?" his Dad called groggily from inside the house.

He pulled on his black leather jacket, which he had hung up on a post of the horse's pen, and dashed out of the barn, lying, "Dunno, but it made one of the horses freak and run off towards the mountain! I'm going after it on my bike!"

"Okay, but be careful. There's wolves out there."

"I know, Dad."

Tyrone's bike was still leaning against the side of the small farm house, the way he'd left it earlier this morning. He swung onto it and peddled down the Ruths' dirt driveway. The cool night air rushed by his face. The trip to the other side of the mountain would take a couple of hours, let alone coming back, but sleeping could wait. There was cash just sitting on the ground!

The first trip lasted until midnight. Going up the mountain was the hardest part; biking back down was extremely easy. For most people, it might've seemed like an impossibly daunting task, but for Tyrone, who had been biking around the countryside since a young age, the only daunting thing was that he wouldn't get to sleep until four. In the MORNING.

Finally, he came out of the bike path that went through the forest of the woods on the other side, and what he saw made him brake and just stare for a few seconds.

Less than six hundred meters away was a ginormous crater in the ground, about 30 meters wide and probably five hundred feet deep. All of it was charred to a shiny onyx black, as well as some of the surrounding vegetation and earth. And in the center of the crater lay a large boulder, still glowing red and steaming. The entire area stank like that chicken manure other farmers would sometimes spread (and that was about the worst smelling thing on the planet). Tyrone gagged.

"Well, I'm here now," he said to himself. "Just some smelly stuff isn't going to turn me back!"

He kicked the brake lock into place, swung off the bike, and was about to run over to the crater when something shiny caught his eye. Tyrone paused and looked at the ground by his left foot.

Sitting there was what looked like a purple crystal.

"Sweet!" he cheered, grinning widely and bending down to get a closer look at it. "I wonder how much it's worth? And... why it's purple."

The crystal was catching the moonlight in a way that made it appear to glow in an otherworldly nature. Tyrone blinked. Weird. He hadn't thought there was that much moonlight. He reached out for the crystal and picked it up...

And it glowed even brighter before lifting out of his palm and slamming into his chest.

The next morning, when Mr. Ruth woke up for good, he discovered his son was missing.

* * *

The disappearances all happened in different parts of the world, to five teens of different ages and vastly different backgrounds. One was normal but shy. Another was an adopted pop idol who felt isolated from the world. A third was an assassin who hated killing. The fourth was a feminine young man who was a master of karate. The fifth and last was a rebellious boy hoping to earn a little extra cash. None of them knew each other, but they all had one thing in common - - they were displeased with their current life.

Although they were scattered across the globe, the five teens vanished at exactly the same time.

And a world of magic and wonder would receive five powerful new citizens.


	2. Mountains and Monsters

**Hello everybody! If you're still reading this, give yourself a round of applause. You know what a good fanfiction looks like. ****_The Atlas Chronicles_**** is my newest fanfiction series and was inspired by several of my previous fics - - namely ****_OP Full Blast_**** and ****_The Gravity Fallen_****. I had attempted to do something like this several other times but had ended up scrapping it. Not today! This time I'm actually diving into the world of Fairy Tail fanfiction for the first time, and it's going to be an awesome adventure! From here on out, it's going to be mostly Sam-centric, with a few POV switches. Here are my replies to reviews on the previous chapter:  
**

**Black Flash:** Thanks, man! I try. XD Well, apparently I'm updating now. I hope you enjoy this new chapter! :D

**Chapter 2 start!**

* * *

Where am I? Who am I?  


Mountains and Monsters!

* * *

**Previously on ****Atlas: A Tale of Five Wizards****:**

_The disappearances all happened in different parts of the world, to five teens of different ages and vastly different backgrounds. One was normal but shy. Another was an adopted pop idol who felt isolated from the world. A third was an assassin who hated killing. The fourth was a feminine young man who was a master of karate. The fifth and last was a rebellious boy hoping to earn a little extra cash. None of them knew each other, but they all had one thing in common - - they were displeased with their current life. Although they were scattered across the globe, the five teens disappeared at exactly the same time._

_And a world of magic and wonder would receive five powerful new citizens._

Cold. So cold.

That was Sam's immediate reaction to his current surroundings. Everything was cold, so cold he could practically feel it in his bones. It felt like he was a human Polar Pop.

He was laying in something freezing, soft, and somewhat wet. His body shivering violently, Samwise shook off the little voice in the back of his head that whispered to just fall back asleep. He had to force himself to stand up and open his eyes, which were currently squeezed shut (it almost felt like they were _frozen_ shut). Just getting into a sitting position felt like running a marathon. His muscles groaned like they hadn't been used in days and his bones cracked unintentionally, resulting in a highly uncomfortable feeling like a million tiny needles stabbing his entire body. His teeth refused to stop chattering.

When he opened his eyes, Sam gaped.

He was sitting on the side of a tall, unfamiliar and extremely snowy mountain, which was in the middle of an equally snowy mountain range. Above him was more mountain and white, puffy clouds that drifted lazily across the sky. Beneath him was a series of dangerous-looking cliffs, cracks, and loose rocks. A misshapen snow angel dented the snow he'd just been laying in. A bitingly cold wind howled as it danced around the mountainside. Sam shivered again. What was he doing in such a crazy environment? He couldn't see any form of life around - - the mountain range blocked the horizon from view - - and he was seated so high up on it that the air was thin, making it hard to breathe.

And to make matters worse, he was wearing _blue jeans_, a _T-shirt, and sneakers_.

Oh, and there was a backpack laying near him, a little further down the mountain and to the left.

Hoping that 1) the backpack was his, and 2) there were warmer and drier clothes in it, Sam scrambled on all fours over to it. He tugged the nearly-frozen zipper open with tumultuous fingers. The teen winced; his fingers were blue, and he hoped he didn't have frost bite. That was bad, right? He couldn't really remember if it was right now, but that didn't matter. What did matter was getting something warm to wear.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the backpack: Just a few icy granola bars, an apple, some rope, a small hammer, and a small, rectangular device. The latter looked very thin and had a bumpy and black cover on three sides, as well as a shiny, black, smaller rectangle in the middle of the uncovered side, a black dot above the smaller rectangle, and a circular pad-like thing below. Sam wondered what it was. It definitely felt familiar, but for the life of him, he couldn't seem to place the name. Was it a heat-making device?

Sam lifted up the curious object, and somehow wasn't surprised that it was as thin as he'd thought. It was so small and skinny that it fit in his hand perfectly. As if he'd done it a thousand times before, his thumb slid down the smaller, black rectangle to the circular pad beneath it, then pressed down.

Sam almost dropped it in surprise.

To his shock, the rectangle had suddenly changed colors completely. Now it showed a slightly grey picture of a wave cresting against blue skies. It also told the time, 2:53 in the afternoon, and the date, Tuesday, July 4th. At the bottom of the wave was a white button with an arrow pointing to the right, and the words _Slide to unlock_ popped out at him like they were doing The Wave at a football game. Warmth rippled throughout his body.

Fumbling, Sam dropped it back into the bag, still shocked at the sudden change of colors.

"Okay," he muttered. "That was weird. When I pressed that button, I got warm and the... screen?... changed."

He shook his head in wonder. Well, at least he wasn't cold anymore. There might have been a storm going on, but since pressing the button on the Device, as he decided to call it, he didn't even feel it anymore. The biting wind didn't bother him in the slightest.

Sam looked down. "Now for a way to get off this mountain."

He needed to find some sort of civilization.

Problem Numero Uno: Below him was a plethora of cliffs, gullies, caves, and other dangerous mountainy-things. It looked like it would take forever to navigate, or at least a very long time... and that was just this mountain alone. There was still an entire mountain _range_ beyond this.

And Sam only had a few icy granola bars and an apple to keep him alive.

The future looked very bright indeed.

He sighed. He might as well start down the mountain now - - he was warm again and his fingers didn't look blue anymore, but he didn't know how long that would last. With that thought, Sam zipped up the backpack and slung it on his back, then took his first few careful steps downward.

The snow was slippery, and he was wearing only sneakers, so it was hard to gain any traction. The cold might not have been bothering him, but the high wind still tried its hardest to knock him off balance and/or sweep his feet out from underneath him. The giant, pointy pyramid of rock was a bit creepy, too. As he descended further and further, his legs getting sorer and sorer, Sam noticed several snow-leaden, dead trees. They were like extras from some winter themed horror movie set. Hollow and frozen like they were petrified, the long-dead trees were filled with holes that made the wind howl when it passed through. And unless it was his imagination, Sam was sure he heard other howls and calls as well... Howls and calls that were most definitely not of any natural origin.

Sam shivered.

As he stumbled down the mountain, the teen had plenty of time to think. He wondered how he came to be on this mountain in the first place. He certainly didn't remember climbing anything nearly this high in the recent past. The last thing he remembered was...

He blinked.

That was strange. Sam couldn't recall what he had been doing before waking up on the mountain. His head didn't hurt either, so it wasn't like he'd been drunk.

He stopped walking and thought back. Now that he noticed his apparent forgetfulness, which felt unnatural for him, he realized other things: There wasn't a whole lot he _did_ remember. For instance, what kind of place was his hometown? What was it called? Did he even have a hometown? When was his birthday? (Although that one did come a little later - - November 7th.) Who was his best friend? Did he own a pet?

Sam was getting truly panicked now. He didn't even know the names of his _parents_.

There was another roar, like a low, animalistic grumble in the distance.

Sam paused and took a few deep breaths.

"Okay," he said to himself. "If I can't remember anything, there's no use worrying about it. Maybe... maybe it's some kind of reaction to the cold or the high altitude." That didn't sound very plausible, but it was better than saying he had amnesia or something worse. "I guess I must be hungry, though, so might as well get something to eat."

He took off the backpack and dug around in it for some food. And then Sam discovered a small miracle - - in the very bottom of the bag sat some beef jerky in a red plastic bag. His stomach rumbled, a far quieter rumble than the previous one. Sam decided to ignore this fact and attack the jerky.

Unfortunately, like the granola bars, it was as cold as ice.

"Well," the boy thought aloud, "I warmed up when I turned on the Device. Maybe the jerky will, too."

He extracted the small object, curious and rectangular, from the backpack and pressed the button near the bottom, then held it against his food. Just like before, it lit up with a wave display and the time, which had changed to 3:20. There was the sound of plastic crinkling, and it warmed up to a delicious softness in just under a minute. Pleased, Sam tossed the Device back into the backpack and tore open the bag of beef jerky. The delectable aroma of freshly cooked meat wafted up to him before it was blown away by the frigid wind.

Sam popped a piece into his mouth and chewed. It may've been a vegan person's worst nightmare, but to him it tasted like heaven with barbeque sauce.

Soon enough, the bag was empty. Sam dropped it into his backpack and shrugged the latter onto his shoulders again. Now that the jerky had re-energized him, he felt like he could tackle the mountain. He grinned (pieces of jerky were stuck in his teeth) and set off once more.

The creepy feeling slowly returned. As he climbed out of a snowy gully, several howls rose up into the storm. Sam frowned and picked up the pace. Whatever was making the howls was getting closer. He thought he heard apelike grunts and snorts. He looked back to make sure nothing was following him, and that was when he saw the monster.

It was indeed very much like an ape. Large and muscular, it had beady yellow eyes and a totally ripped body. White fur ran down its arms, legs, and back, though its chest was padded in tough onyx skin. The beast had a strangely pointy head and chin. It stood at least three times as tall as Sam, stepping out of the storm and leering at him dangerously. A chill ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the freezing temperatures.

"Mehee-at!" the monster roared with a sniff.

Sam gaped at it. How could a beast like that exist? It was like something out of a fantasy novel, or a creature from some strange mythology long forgotten. There was no doubt in his mind that it was indeed real - - it radiated deadly power and fear that chilled his bones.

The monster approached him almost carefully.

He turned and ran.

Grunting in excitement, the strange creature gave chase.

Sam dashed through the storm, squinting as the wind tossed little flecks of snow into his eyes and tried to impede him. The mountain was steep enough that he didn't run so much as stumbled, skidding from boulder to cliff, and sliding on loose pebbles and snow. The warmth brought on by the Device wasn't fading, something Sam was glad for; however, it didn't seem to help matters much.

The enormous apelike monster was gaining ground, closing the distance between them.

He planted his right foot as firmly as he could in the snow, then jumped across a small crevice in the mountain and landed on a boulder. Behind him, the monster paused at the crevice, looked at it curiously, and then simply stepped over it with its long legs. It pounded its chest with its fists in accomplishment and again growled, "Mehee-at! Mehee-at!"

It looked down at him hungrily.

"I'm not food!" Sam called with a gulp, wind blowing in his face. The beast was taller than him even with the added height of the boulder.

"Mehee-at!" it rumbled, more insistently.

...It almost sounded like the beast was asking for meat.

Sam blinked. Had it smelled his beef jerky and decided it wanted that?

"There's no more meat left," he said in a tone he hoped was brave. "I ate it all."

The monster's hungry expression morphed into anger, and it grunted, "Hooman eet all mehee-at... No mehee-at left fuhr thees po-hoor Vulcan. Vulcan eet hooman instead!"

He didn't even have time to be impressed that it could speak. _'Well, shit,' _cursed Sam, and he turned to run.

It was pointless. The Vulcan was bigger than him, it had more muscle than him, and it had far longer legs than him. Besides that, the beast also ran like an ape, using its hands to propel itself forward. In no time, it had bounded over the large rock Sam had just scrambled off of and caught him in its grasp.

Sam screamed as he was lifted quickly into the air. The monster was crushing his body with its bare hands - - with its bare _hand_. Pain shot through him. It flipped him upside down and shook him; the backpack slipped off and fell to the snow, spilling its contents everywhere. He must've forgotten to zip it back up when he put it on last.

"Let go of me!" Sam yelled in agony, struggling against the monster's iron grip. It swiveled him around and held him up so that they were looking each other in the eye. (The teen, though, was still upside down.)

"Vulcan no keen do thees," it said stupidly. "Vulcan ne-heed hooman body."

Blood was rushing to Sam's head. He groaned, "LET - - ME - - GO!"

To both his surprise and the Vulcan's, there was a flash of light and a crackle of electricity. A bolt of lightning shot from nearby the fallen backpack and through Sam's captor's arm, causing the beast to cry out in pain and let him go.

Unfortunately, because he was upside down, he landed face-first in the snow.

"Ow," he mumbled once he had pulled himself out. His entire body hurt, and he suspected this was how bugs felt when people squished them underfoot and they didn't die immediately. Sam looked at the Vulcan. It was clutching its arm and hopping around in pain, and when it let go of its arm, he could see it was charred, like it had been burned.

_'What _was _that?'_ Sam wondered. _'It was almost like magic.'_

He stumbled to the fallen backpack while the monster was distracted. Laying around it in a broken line were the apple, granola bars, and the rectangular Device, the latter of which was smoking at one side and sparking electric.

Had it somehow reacted to his desperation and released that lightning bolt?

Behind him, the Vulcan was recovering from the attack. "So..." it growled. "The hooman boy ees a weezard... Vulcan theenks he could be use-uhful fuhr uther wayees."

Sam heard the monster speak, and although he didn't quite understand, he knew he was still in danger. He picked up the Device and pointed the smoking side at the Vulcan. Another growl seemed to come from behind him, though it might've been an echo. As it lumbered towards him, Sam instinctively punched a rectangular button on the left of the side facing him.

"Get away from me!" Sam roared, anger flaring in his eyes. He didn't know where the next words came from, but he called, "Techno Discharge!"

Like before, there was a flash of light. Now, though, Sam could see that it was caused by the appearance of a light purple, glowing circle with strange designs and runes swirling inside it, hanging in midair and just touching the smoking side of the Device. A lightning bolt exploded out of the Device and through the center of the magical circle, then tore at the Vulcan, who attempted to dodge. The bolt, however, seemed to change direction like a homing missile. It slammed into the creature's chest with a thunderous _BABOOM!_

The monster bellowed as the electric overrode its heart. Its body shook with the strike and its eyes rolled back in its head.

Then it fell over, dead.

Sudden fatigue struck Sam, and he had to stop himself from keeling over as well. He felt empty of energy, like a core deep within him had been drained of fuel. The cold was quickly returning.

But he wasn't out of the woods yet.

The ground shook as something came up the mountain directly behind him. Sam swiveled around, panting, only to see a second apelike, white-furred beast glaring at him.

"Hooman weezard defeated daddy Vulcan!" the new Vulcan growled dangerously. It was smaller than the first, but no less frightful. "Vulcan no like hooman weezard! Vulcan theenks hooman weezard need lesson een manners!"

"Dammit," Sam panted. "There was a second one!?" He pointed the Device at the beast and punched the same button he did before, but nothing happened. The second monster raised an eyebrow and growled, then dashed to him and grabbed him. He was once again lifted into the air, squeezed until he could barely breathe.

"Good night, leetle hooman," said the Vulcan with an evil glint in its eye.

Another flash of light lit up the dark mountainside, and then Sam saw black.

* * *

**Alright! I finally completed the second chapter! I think the next one is going to be in Natsu's or perhaps Lucy's point of view, and is also going to have a description of Samwise in it, so we're finally heading into the main story. Can anyone take a guess as to what the Device is? I tried to describe it well enough that most people should realize what it is. I might have put a bit too much description into it, though. Oh well.  
**

Sam: Stupid Vulcan! I didn't _want_ to kill that other thing! I was just trying to protect myself!

Lucy: *sweatdrops* I don't think the monster can understand you, Sam.

Sam: EH!? Who are you!? And... why are you in a... grandfather clock...?

Leanne: ...Because she's an idiot.

Lucy: OI! I'm not an idiot, and you don't even appear yet!

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter of _Atlas: A Tale of Five Wizards_! For any new readers out there, I hope you follow and/or favorite this story. Neither action is necessary for me to continue writing, but both are highly appreciated, and following lets you get an email whenever I update! Also, don't forget to leave a review. I appreciate those even more than follows and favorites, and all it takes is a little writing on your part.**

**-TheRealEvanSG**


	3. Missing Memories and Wonderful Wizards

**Sorry for the EXTREMELY long wait, but I am finally back with the third chapter of ****_Atlas: A Tale of Five Wizards!_**** I actually forgot I had this story in my archives. The only reason I remembered it at all was because I was looking through my notes and found plot ideas for this by accident. I've been in a Fairy Tail sort of mood lately, so thus you have it!**

**Chapter 3 start!**

* * *

Fire Dragon and Celestial Spirits, Meet Technology!  


Missing Memories and Wonderful Wizards

* * *

**Previously on _Atlas, A Tale of Five Wizards:_****  
**

_"Dammit," Sam panted. "There was a second one!?" He pointed the Device at the beast and punched the same button he did before, but nothing happened. The second monster raised an eyebrow and growled, then dashed to him and grabbed him. He was once again lifted into the air, squeezed until he could barely breathe._

_"Good night, leetle hooman," said the Vulcan with an evil glint in its eye._

_Another flash of light lit up the dark mountainside, and then Sam saw black._

When Sam came to, his head felt like someone had thrown the world's wildest dance party in it. It throbbed worse than a lovesick One Direction fan's heart. His mouth tasted like old paper, and he felt extremely heavy, as though someone had weighted his body down with a dozen sacks of potatoes.

He blinked once, then twice.

And things only got stranger.

To Sam, it seemed that he was looking out of someone else's eyes. The world felt unnaturally blurry, but at the same time clear. Describing the sensation was like trying to describe a color to a blind person. On another note, his body felt large, bulky, and awkward. When he tried to move it, it wouldn't work. Actually, it appeared to be under the command of someone other than himself - - he was walking without telling his legs to do anything, and picking his nose without lifting his arm, and making weird, half-understandable, almost apelike grunts.

Where was he?

The thought crossed Samwise's mind quite suddenly, and he got as good a look around as he could. He appeared to be in a gaping cavern of ice. Light gleamed off the smooth surface of snow-covered frozen water, which covered the walls, floor, and ceiling of the underground room. Icicles stabbed downward from the ceiling like wintery daggers. His backpack and the Device were nowhere to be found. There was, however, a grandfather clock that appeared to have a face. Even weirder, inside it was a blonde girl, who pounded furiously on the glass of the clock. She had a white T-shirt on that did nothing to hide her incredibly big chest, and a whip hung on the belt of her jeans. All she had to keep her warm was a blanket.

He felt rather bad for the unfamiliar girl. Being trapped in a grandfather clock inside some ice cavern couldn't be very fun.

Then Sam and his body took an unplanned (at least by him) turn around the corner of the cave. A hole with jagged edges was in front of him, staring out into the same dark mountainside from before. The storm was still raging on, or perhaps another - - he had no way of knowing how long he'd been unconscious. A mat of ice lay in front of the entrance, remarkably free of snow, and although his eyes were not tilted toward it, he was able to get a good look at his reflection.

The body of the second Vulcan, the one that had knocked him out, stared back at him.

He yelled in shock, or would have if he had had a mouth. He blinked and tried to rub his eyes. When the action failed to work, he blinked again and tried to look back down at the untainted ice. The Vulcan was still where his reflection should have been, and his own body was blood-curdlingly absent.

A sudden fear gripped him. His head raced with wild solutions. Had his mind somehow been forced into the monster's brain? Or had the Vulcan merged with his body, taking complete control over it in the process? The latter seemed to be the most likely of the possible choices, but still unthinkable. After all, things like that only happened in movies, books, and really bad fanfictions.

Behind Sam, three short beeps rang out, and there was the sound of something disappearing - - a comical POOF!

"Hey, Horologium!" exclaimed the panicked voice of a girl. "Don't leave me here!"

The Vulcan turned, and Sam with it. He was now able to see that the grandfather clock had vanished, leaving the blonde girl sitting on the ice. She squeaked and looked at him, scooting back on her butt.

Another voice echoed out from nowhere. "It is time! Good-bye for now, Lucy!"

The blonde quivered in fear, tears building up in the corners of her eyes as the monster, and likewise Sam, advanced on her. She cried desperately, "I want an extension! An extension!"

Before anything could happen, a distant battle cry met Sam's ears. The Vulcan who had taken over him grunted and swiveled around. From the depths of the cave came a boy with pink hair and a white scarf. He seemed to be only a few years older than Sam himself. He wasn't exactly dressed for the weather either, though.

"Where is Macao!?" his enraged voice rang out.

The Vulcan occupying Sam's body spoke, or rather rumbled stupidly. "Aroo?"

The blonde girl's eyes widened hopefully. "Natsu!" she called.

Suddenly, the pink-haired boy's foot slipped on the frozen cave floor, and he was sent tumbling past them. The Vulcan tilted its head in Natsu's direction confusedly. The blonde's face morphed into a deadpan expression.

"Lame..." she intoned with disappointment. She facepalmed. "Is he incapable of making a normal entrance?"

The boy, Natsu, came crashing to a stop against the cave's snowy wall. He winced, but ignored it. "Oi, monkey!" he called in Sam's direction, picking himself up off the floor.

The Vulcan's attention was now fully focused on him. The girl with the blanket took her chance and dashed across the ice to the newcomer.

"You can understand me, right?" Natsu continued, pointing at Sam - - or rather, the Vulcan occupying Sam's body. "I'm asking about Macao, a human man."

"Man?" grunted out the Vulcan.

The pink-haired young man glowered at him. "That's right! Where are you hiding him?"

Lucy gawked. "Natsu's already decide the monkey's hiding him?" she said to herself.

The Vulcan suddenly jumped up and down, motioning out the entrance to the cave Sam had seen earlier. Natsu grinned eagerly and followed the body-napper there. "Where?" he asked, peering out the entrance, but the next thing Sam knew, he was unintentionally kicking the boy out it with an apelike foot.

"Damn monkey!" shouted Natsu angrily as he fell out of sight.

Sam's gaped through the creature's eyes. Had that really just happened? Everything had been so sudden. He hadn't wanted to boot that poor pink-haired kid down the mountain, but the Vulcan had moved for him. The blonde gasped and called for the teen, but it was pointless.

Natsu had to be dead.

The Vulcan did a strange little dance. "I don't ne-heed men," it grunted victoriously. "I like woo-men!"

"Don't tell me he's..." The blonde trailed off, choking back a sob. She was now staring despairingly out the jagged hole. Her maroon blanket billowed in the chilled wind like a cape. She swallowed, and turned slowly, glaring at the Vulcan in Sam's body. She said, "Check this out, you perverted ape!"

The girl in the Heartskruz shirt took a golden key off a keyring Sam hadn't noticed before. The Vulcan stopped dancing and watched curiously. She then raised the key high above her head, and swept it down. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!" she cried. "Taurus!"

Much to Sam's mystification, the sound of bells chimed. The tip of the key glowed in a magical yellow circle, like when he had accidentally attacked the first Vulcan with his Device; but instead of a lightning bolt, a Speedo-wearing bull with an axe on its back jumped out. It raised its meaty, black-spotted arms triumphantly and roared. It landed and stood on its hind legs like a human.

"...Cow?" grunted the Vulcan stupidly.

Behind the giant bull, the blonde said, "Taurus is the most powerful Celestial Spirit I have a contract with."

Taurus the Bull's eyes went strangely heart-shaped and he did a strange little hip wiggle. "You always have a _nice body_, Ms. Lucy - - I'm _mooved_!" it said approvingly, its hands folded across its chest. Sam was now gawking at it through the Vulcan's eyes. Could all animals on this mountain talk or something? And wasn't it... slightly perverted?

The blonde, Lucy, facepalmed again, utterly embarrassed. "And _he's_ perverted, too..."

Oh. Yes it was.

The Vulcan stamped its feet upon the ice furiously, Sam getting tossed around in its head. "I wo-hon't let you take my woo-men!" it growled.

The man-like bull narrowed its eyes. "_Your_ women, eh? Those are fighting words!" It had a deep bass voice - - unsurprising for a cow.

Lucy threw her hand out. "Taurus!"

Taurus tilted up on its, or perhaps _his_, tiptoes, then performed a mighty jump into the air. The monster ape occupying Sam's body lifted its head to follow its trajectory. The bull-man then grasped the shaft of the oversized axe on its back, holding it easily and spinning it like a baton twirler. "FIERCE MOOVE!" he mooed, bringing the axe's blade smashing down into the ice. A wave of power tore at the Vulcan, and therefore Sam. The beast jumped to the side. The energy blast narrowly missed them.

_What the hell was that? _wondered Sam in shock. He'd never seen anything like it before. And why were these magical circles appearing? Was he having some weird, crazy dream?

Yeah, that had to be it. It was all a dream.

"He's fast!" gasped Lucy, her golden hair falling in front of her chest as she took a step back. The Vulcan was now blazing forward with a flying attack of its own, drawing its fist back for a blow to Taurus's bull head. Or perhaps the bull's eye? Before Sam could find out, a triumphant battle cry echoed across the ice cavern and Taurus was knocked aside with a sandled foot to the chin.

Wait, what?

Suddenly in the air before Sam was the pink-haired boy the Vulcan had kicked down the mountain... Natsu. Lucy gaped as he landed.

Taurus had been sent flying, skidding across the ice in dizzying circles. When he finally stopped, he keeled over and groaned out, "Looks like this is the end..."

"SO WEAK!" Lucy deadpanned.

Natsu, watching the whole thing with a confused expression, jabbed his thumb at Sam and the Vulcan.

"Oi," the previously falling boy said dryly. "Is it me, or are there more monsters now?"

Sam's eye would have twitched if he had control over it. What the hell was going on? Things were happening too fast for him to keep up.

"HE'S AN ALLY!" screamed Lucy furiously. "ONE OF MY CELESTIAL SPIRITS!"

Natsu tilted his head. "This monkey is...?"

"The _BULL_! ...Wait, how are you alive?"

"Oh?" the pink-haired boy smirked at her. "I owe that to Happy!"

Happy? Was that someone's name? Sam literally had no idea what was happening anymore.

Then Natsu grinned and thanked something in the air, and Sam realized that there was a floating blue cat with wings who was _definitely_ not there before. _A floating, BLUE cat with WINGS._

"Aye, sir!" it cheered, saluting Natsu.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THIS FREAKIN' MOUNTAIN!?" snapped Sam with a flaming red tic-pulse.

The winged cat, Natsu, and Lucy all wheeled around to face him and the Vulcan using his body.

Lucy stared. "Did you hear that?" she asked the two, looking like she'd seen a ghost.

Natsu frowned. "Yeah... that monkey sounded almost human there. And it sounded like it had never been on this mountain before."

"Aye!" agreed Happy the cat, floating without a care in the world.

Sam blinked in surprise. _Wait, what?_ he thought for the millionth time that day. _Did they hear me? That must mean I was able to gain control of my mouth again... seems like my body is still in the form of that ape's, though._ Something occurred to him. _Hey, maybe those other guys can help - - the girl can pull perverted bulls out of mid air, after all._

He tried to talk again. "Hey!" he said, and Natsu and Lucy's jaws dropped. He definitely heard his own voice come from the creature's mouth this time. "This... ape thing took control of my body and turned it into _this_! Please, _help me_!"

There were a few beats.

"EH!?" screamed Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. Their expressions would've been priceless in any other situation.

The girl hid behind her pink-haired friend. "It definitely talked just now!" she cried. "And it was talking about itself in the third person! Not only is it perverted, but it's WEIRD!

Natsu's jaw was practically touching the floor. "Mirajane never said Vulcans can do that!"

"Aye!" said Happy. It appeared to be one of his favorite words. "But they _are_ Take Over monsters - - they survive by Taking Over other peoples' bodies! Maybe whoever it did that to is fighting back somehow!"

"...Is that possible?" wondered Lucy, looking like she wasn't quite buying into the flying cat's theory.

The Vulcan suddenly roared and shook its head, jarring Sam. It clutched its hair and stamped the ice angrily. The two strangers and their cat blinked, then slid into fighting stances.

"It's trying to regain control?" Natsu guessed. Tongues of red-hot fire erupted around its fist. "I won't let that happen! And I'll knock it out of its victim's body! Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

Much to Sam's horror, the pink-haired boy dashed forward, driving his flaming fist back and then slamming it into the Vulcan's chest. The Taken Over teen was knocked back, crashing against the ice. Steam billowed up into the cavern.

It toppled over backwards with an almighty crash. His vision blackened momentarily, and then Sam was staring straight down at the ice.

What Sam saw made him let out a relieved breath.

He realized he had brown hair again. His eyes had returned to their normal color of green. His skin was its usual Caucasian, and although he was somewhat short for his age, he didn't even care. All that mattered was that the Vulcan was gone, and he was back in his own body.

"Hey, he's not Macao," muttered Natsu with some disappointment.

He scrambled to his feet, slipping on the ice a little. "Thanks, um... Natsu, was it?" he said with a weak smile. "I have no idea how I got on this mountain, but that thing attacked me and suddenly I was in its body. What did you do just now - - the flaming hand thing? And why can your cat fly?"

Natsu blinked, then grinned. "Oh, that? That's magic. I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer. I can make and eat fire with magic."

Magic?

Sam felt suddenly faint again. "Yep, that's it, I'm dreaming," he deadpanned, teetering over. His body hurt and his knees felt weak. "I'm Sam Kirkland, by the way. Good night."

Lucy stared at him worriedly. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked.

But before Sam could fall over and sleep, something else bounded through the entrance to the cave. It was yet another Vulcan - - larger than the one that had Taken Over Sam, and more powerful-looking. Natsu whirled around and glowered at it, taking a deep breath.

"How many of you stupid monkeys are there!?" the Fire Dragon Slayer complained. The Vulcan dashed across the ice like a madman... er, madmonkey, and raised its fist to pummel the other teen in the face. Lucy gulped, but Natsu simply leaned to the side and dodged.

He glowered at the beast and slammed his foot into its chest, knocking it back. "Listen up!" he snarled at it. "All the members of Fairy Tail are my comrades and friends!"

"Fairy Tail?" Sam repeated to Lucy curiously.

She took pity on him. "It's the wizard guild where Natsu and I work. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. It's pretty famous... or maybe infamous is the better word."

He nodded like he understood (although he didn't) and returned to watching the escalating man VS ape fight. Natsu was dashing across the ice like a roadrunner, shouting, "From Gramps and Mira to those annoying jerks Gray and Elfman! Happy and Lucy are my friends, too!"

The blonde girl beside Sam straightened and blushed.

Natsu swept his fist at the monster monkey, but it leaped over him and scampered away. The Vulcan paused, and then almost seemed to smirk as it charged him this time. A red glow lit up the young man's enraged expression, and Sam realized it was coming from a red magical circle that was spinning around Natsu's feet. Fire sprang up from the circle, curling around the teen's leg.

"Which is why..." he continued, jumping into the air and performing a lethal, flaming flying kick to the stomach. The air was knocked out of the ape, and it was sent flying back. "...I'm taking Macao back with me!"

The Vulcan was tossed unceremoniously into the ceiling, where it dislodged several icicles. Then it crashed back to the ice cave's frozen flare. The Dragon Slayer smirked triumphantly, but the Vulcan roared again and punched the ice. A wave of power ripped through the air at Natsu, and Sam and Lucy shrieked as they leaped to safety. Happy simply glided over the wreckage. Icicles and deadly sharp pieces of ice were flung at Natsu, but as they hit him, steam rose up in the air.

"That has no effect on fire!" the wizard bellowed.

When the steam cleared, Natsu was perfectly fine, but the Vulcan was holding a mighty axe.

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "Uh-oh."

"That's Taurus's axe!" gasped Lucy.

"THIS IS FREAKIN' INSANE!" exclaimed Sam, his eyes bulging out.

The monkey wielded the enormous weapon like a toothpick, flinging it at Natsu's feet, then in a crushing overhead strike, then a deadly diagonal blow that could've lopped off someone's head in one go. The pink-haired wizard casually evaded every swipe of the axe. However, they didn't take into account the slippery ice, and suddenly Natsu's foot slid out from under him, causing him to fall on his back with a surprised shout.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried; the Vulcan was again aiming for an overhead strike.

Sam gawked. "He's gonna die for real this time," he said in disbelief. "I don't remember much about myself, but I'm pretty sure people don't usually die in my dreams."

The gigantic axe halted an inch from Natsu's face. The teen had managed to get to a kneeling position on the ice and stopped the huge blade with his _bare hands_, although it seemed to take an incredible effort. Both Vulcan and wizard grunted as they tried to counter each other's strength. Then, to Sam's shock, the metal blade started melting around Natsu's hands, and pieces of burning hot metal dropped into the teen's mouth. This didn't seem to bother him at all - - in fact, he opened his mouth wider to catch all the melted metal.

Lucy's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "He melted the axe blade with his body heat!?"

"Aye!" confirmed Happy from a bird's eye point of view.

"Now that I've eaten," said Natsu victoriously, "I'm all fried up!" He sprayed little balls of the melted metal at the monkey, and it howled in pain, backing up on the ice. Grinning, Natsu opened another flaming red magic circle around his fists. Just like with Sam's Vulcan, he dashed forward, roaring, "Here I come! Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

Tongues of fire were again flickering around the teen's hand. With a smirk of success, his fiery fist barreled into the third beast's jaw, and it was sent careening backwards.

"You did it!" cheered Happy once all the resulting rubble cleared.

The Vulcan was lying upside down in a monster-shaped hole in the cave, unconscious. "But wait," said Lucy suddenly, "wasn't this Vulcan supposed to tell us where Macao is? He's completely knocked out..."

Natsu chuckled and shrugged. "Oh yeah! I forgot!" Something seemed to occur to him, and he turned to Sam. "Do _you_ where Macao is?"

"I wish I did," said Sam apologetically, "but I don't even know where _I _am. Or who he is. Or who I - -"

Before Sam could finish speaking, the monkey glowed under a yellow magic circle, and an explosion of energy burst outward. And suddenly, lying in the rubble was a blue-haired, middle-aged, and barely conscious man. He wore brown pants with a belt and a long white coat.

"It's Macao!" gasped Natsu.

Lucy's eyes softened. "He must've been Taken Over just like... Sam, right?... was."

Happy did something that was as close to a smile as a cat could come. "He looks really injured," he said. "He must've put up an intense fight before he was Taken Over."

The three immediately went to work setting the man up on the maroon blanket, fixing him up as best they could.

Natsu pounded the ice with his fist. "Don't you dare die on me, Macao! Your son is waiting for you back at the guild!"

A few minutes passed with no reaction from the man. Then his eyes eased open, and he grinned weakly. "Hey, Natsu," he groaned. "I'm pathetic. I defeated nineteen of them... but the twentieth got me. I'm really mad at myself. Damn. I can't face my son Romeo now..."

"Don't say that! Defeating that many is impressive enough!" The pink-haired boy grinned encouragingly.

Sam's jaw dropped. "You beat _nineteen_ of those things!?" he exclaimed in complete awe. "I managed to kill one, and I don't know how I did it but it drained me completely of energy!"

The man and the teen grasped hands, and Natsu helped Macao to his feet.

"Now, come on!" he said. "Let's go see Romeo!"

"And who the hell is Romeo?" Sam wondered, totally lost.

Happy, who had stopped flying while they fixed up Macao, blinked and stared up at the brown-haired boy. "Oh, yeah. Why were you here on Mt. Hokabe, Sam?"

"Is that what this place is called?"

Everybody nodded.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Everything's a total blank. I only remember waking up on this mountain with the Device I have in my hands right now, trying to get off it, and being attacked by those Vulcan things. I killed the first one with the Device - - a weird circle thing like you guys use popped up around it - - but when the second one came, it wouldn't work, and the beast knocked me out. All I know about myself is my name, Samwise Kirkland. But just call me Sam, please. I don't like _Samwise_."

Lucy hummed. "Well, you might have amnesia. Hey, Natsu, do you think someone at the guild could help?"

"Yeah, maybe," agreed Natsu.

Macao shrugged. "Porlyusica might be able to restore his memories. She can heal people with her magic. She once gave someone a new eye."

"Aye, sir!" confirmed Happy cheerfully. "You should come with us, Sam!"

Sam considered it. He didn't really have anywhere else to go, at least, not that he could remember, and if the mountain had any more of those Vulcans... Well, Natsu and Macao at least seemed to be strong fighters, so they could protect him. And if this Porlyusica person could heal his amnesia...

"Alright," he decided. "Sure. Let's go to this guild, whatever it is."

And thus, Samwise Kirkland's adventures begun, and the fate of Fiore was forever changed...

* * *

**I do apologize for the incredibly long delay. I haven't had much time to write any fanfictions lately, what with school, homework, watching anime, and video games. But I finally had some free time since we had two snow days in a row, so here you go!  
**

Sam: Can someone please tell me what's going on? I could hardly keep up...

Natsu: Well, I'm a wizard, and I like to bust things up!

Happy: Aye!

Lucy: You two are hopeless.

**I hope you enjoyed the third chapter of this fanfic! If you did, I would appreciate your follows, favorites, and reviews. None of them are necessary to keep me writing - - it usually depends on what mood I'm in and how much free time I have. I would, however, like to ask that you at least leave a review. I am very proud of my work after all, and I enjoy hearing what others have to say about it.**

**Happy reading!**

**-TheRealEvanSG**


	4. Healers and Hijinks

**Here we go, folks! The Atlas Chronicles are really kicking off now! We're about to embark on our first major story arc, and the second member of Team Atlas will be arriving momentarily! But not in this chapter. Maybe in like, three chapters. Hey, I'm not the master here.**

Sam: Yes, you are. You write the story. You're the master.

**Oh, really? So that means I can make ya do whatever I want, huh?**

Sam: W-What!? I didn't say - -

**Perfect! Go take out the trash for me and do all my homework, will you? Ahem. Anyway, let's move on with the fanfiction, shall we? Oh, and before we go, I don't own Fairy Tail! If I did, it would probably be in book form, because I suck at drawing. Seriously. I'm a sophomore in high school and I still draw stick figures.  
**

**Chapter 4 begin!**

* * *

Healers and Hijinks  


An Unusual Occurrence in a World With Magic?  


* * *

**Previously on _Atlas, A Tale of Five Wizards:_**

"_Aye, sir!" confirmed Happy cheerfully. "You should come with us, Sam!"_

_Sam considered it. He didn't really have anywhere else to go, at least, not that he could remember, and if the mountain had any more of those Vulcans... Well, Natsu and Macao at least seemed to be strong fighters, so they could protect him. And if this Porlyusica person could heal his amnesia..._

_"Alright," he decided. "Sure. Let's go to this guild, whatever it is."_

_And thus, Samwise Kirkland's adventures begun, and the fate of Fiore was forever changed..._

Sam wasn't quite sure how he'd been expecting they get off the mountain, but it certainly wasn't a magic carriage.

It was one of those old-fashioned carriages, the kind with a big box of a room in the back that you rode in. There weren't any horses attached to it. Happy explained with an obliviously cheerful "Aye!" that it worked by feeding your magic into it, which acted like gas to cars. Sam, Natsu, Lucy, and the flying blue cat sat in the box in the back.

It wasn't exactly the most comfortable method of transportation. Every bump jarred the brown-haired teen's mind, every rock felt like they were hitting a boulder. It wasn't very roomy, and the two boys were squished together on one side, while Lucy and Happy the Cat sat on the other. The seats, although cushioned with dark red pillows, were about as comfortable as cement.

Natsu was completely out of commission. Pale and sickly, his cheeks kept puffing out like he was going to barf and he clutched his stomach desperately.

Sam gazed down at the Dragon Slayer. "What's wrong with him?" he asked Lucy.

"Motion sickness," she deadpanned. "He's got it so bad that he can't even think about vehicles without wanting to throw up."

_Can't really blame him_, he thought with a sweatdrop. He almost wanted to chuck his lunch, too.

Happy nodded. "Aye, sir! Gray used to tease him about it all the time."

"And... who's Gray?" Sam said.

"One of our friends at Fairy Tail. He's an Ice Make Mage and can make tons of cool stuff out of ice!"

"Really? Huh. I still don't really know what Fairy Tail is."

"You really don't know much, do you?" Lucy looked at him pitifully like he was a really cute, lost little puppy. "Poor guy... Do you remember what the name of this country is?"

"Uh... Sparta?"

She blinked. "No, what's that? We live in Fiore. It's filled with wizards who can use all different kinds of magic, although people say that only about ten percent of the population are actual wizards. Natsu and I are two of them. Happy is..." Now it was her turn to sweatdrop. "I don't really know _what_ he is, actually. Anyway, we wizards join guilds to take on jobs and earn money. Fairy Tail, which Natsu, Happy and I belong to, is one - - if not the - - strongest guilds in the country."

"So, wait," Sam said, trying to process this information. "You're saying magic exists."

"Well, yeah. You saw Natsu do his stuff in that cave. Apparently a dragon taught him that magic."

His mouth tasted like wood chips. "Dragons exist."

"Yep." Lucy frowned suddenly and looked lost in thought. "Or at least, they used to. Natsu says the dragon that taught him magic disappeared when he was a kid, and nobody's seen one since then. Mi - - someone at the guild said that Natsu's been trying to find Igneel for years now with no luck at all."

"I'm fainting now," he said dryly. "Good night."

The exhaustion of the previous day hit him harder than a speeding roadrunner, and he went out like a light.

* * *

His dreams were as confusing as the day's events had been. Sam saw a kaleidoscope of images flashing about him like strobe lights. He saw fields of corn and golden wheat rolling down a hillside; he saw a simple house and a man with a feather in his hair in front of it (that caused his heart to lurch in an unsettling homesick feeling); he saw a large white building with a starry, striped flag waving gallantly on the top; and things he did not remember later.

_Sam._

Some of the images Sam felt he had seen before. Others were unfamiliar to him, yet still drew a yearning from his chest. He didn't know how to feel about them. As they ran past his mind's eye like a roll of film, a nostalgic tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. Then a picture of a girl who could've been a Barbie Doll appeared, and the nostalgia was followed by a slightly angry, mostly annoyed ball dropping in his stomach.

_Sam!_

The images stopped, and quite abruptly he was watching one particular scene. It didn't exactly feel like a memory. Sam saw a dark room, and mist hung everywhere like a cloud of despair. Multiple, hoarse voices screamed and pleaded for him to help them, to save them, and although he desperately wanted to, he seemed rooted to his spot. The annoyed and angry ball in his stomach morphed into a cold knot of terror. Chains stretched from Sam's wrists to the ceiling, and the mist closed in on him. The hopeless voices increased in volume.

One shout rose up louder than the rest, terrified and dry, and he realized with a start that it was his own.

_SAM! WAKE UP!_

"GAH!" he cried, and his eyes snapped open. The brown-haired teen flailed his arms and legs wildly, and promptly tumbled off the bed he laid on with a painful crash.

"Are you alright?" a kind voice asked with concern.

He took a few deep breaths, and his vision slowly focused. Sam wasn't in the carriage anymore. He was on the floor a bright, plant-filled room. Sunlight streamed through a few windows. A soft, comfortable, sky blue carpet lay beneath him, outlined with red. An oak door inlaid with heart designs was to his left, and next to it was a shelf stacked with all kinds of strange medicines and suspicious bottles. And unless it was his imagination, two tree stumps sat on the edge of the carpet like they grew out of the floor.

Sam rubbed his head and got to his feet. Where was he _now_? The last thing he could remember was passing out on the carriage back from Mt. Hokabe. Wait, did he still have the Device? He slipped has hand into his jeans' pocket and relaxed when he felt it sitting there.

"You look pale. Here, drink this."

Sam jumped and turned. Sitting on edge of the bed to his right was a wizened woman with hair a softer pink than Natsu's. She was wrapped in a red cape that had dubious fangs on its cowl. Her skin was surprisingly wrinkle-free for a lady as old as she was, although her mouth was twisted in what appeared to be a permanent frown. Her eyes were the same color as her coat.

The old woman stretched her hand out to Sam, offering him a glass of clear yellow liquid.

"What is it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and taking a step back. "And who are you? Where's Natsu and Lucy and Happy? Where am I?"

She sighed in annoyance. "So many questions! This is what I hate about humans... Well, to start off, it's medicine to help refill your magic core and restore your energy." The brown-haired teen opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could ask anything. "My name is Porlyusica, and I sometimes act as a doctor for Fairy Tail wizards. Natsu and Happy are waiting outside, and they said that Lucy got held up back at the guild. They brought you to my house so I could heal you. When you fainted in that carriage, you worried them greatly."

"I did, huh?" Sam hummed and thought for a moment. He really wasn't sure what Fiore was, or how he felt about being in a land where magic was real and generally accepted, but Natsu, Lucy and their cat seemed nice enough. He wasn't sure how, but he had a hunch he could trust them. He also felt bad for making them worry.

He blinked and looked up at Porlyusica. "Say, can you heal my amnesia?"

"It depends on how you got it," she said curtly, wiggling the glass of yellow liquid impatiently. "Now are you gonna take your medicine or not?"

"You said this would refill my magic core, right?" Sam asked, frowning at the glass. "But I'm not even a wizard, so..."

"Oh, don't be stupid. Of course you're a wizard! How else do you think you beat that Vulcan? Normal people don't beat Vulcans. And before you ask, Natsu and Happy already told me everything that happened on the mountain. Now drink up." When Sam still hesitated, she groaned and thrust it into his hands. "Go on, just do it!"

"A-Alright." Nervously, the so-called wizard brought the cup to his lips and sniffed it. Its contents smelled like juice. Although he had rather large inhibitions about this, he took a sip.

Surprisingly, it was good. It tasted like it smelled - - fruity and sugary. It reminded him of home, although he didn't quite know _where_ exactly home was. He downed the glass in one gulp, and handed it back to the old pinkette, who in turn set it gently on one of the cups.

After a minute, Sam grew less tired and more energetic. He could feel strength returning to his limbs.

"What was that?" he said.

Porlyusica's frown lightened, the closest she'd gotten to a smile since he'd woken up. "A healing potion I brewed with various fruits and herbs from the forest. That energy you feel is your magic filling up again. I don't know what spell you used on the mountain, but you over-exerted yourself and drained your core. Of course, your magic would've returned naturally in a few days, but you never know what kind of trouble you might get yourself into, so this was the safer option. What are you still standing for? Sit down."

Sam nodded and sat on the bed beside her. "So _can_ you heal my amnesia?" he said again.

The Healer looked out the bright window thoughtfully. "It depends," she reiterated. "Normally, amnesia occurs in three ways - - intense trauma to the brain, disease, or something happened that was so terrible you mentally suppressed all your memories of it. But of course, in a world with magic, there are ways to steal someone's memories from them. The first three causes are fairly easy to fix, although if it was disease, it might take longer and could be more dangerous. But while you were knocked out, I examined your body with my magic, and what I saw didn't indicate any of those scenarios."

"So..." Sam trailed off.

"So someone or something caused your memories to vanish," she concluded. "In which case there are two options to get them back: find and defeat the person or thing who took them, or have them return your memories willingly."

"You're saying somebody stole my memories."

"Perhaps."

"Why?"

Porlyusica shrugged. "That's a good question. There could be any number of reasons for a person to give you amnesia. Maybe you had a falling out, or maybe you had some information on them that could've damaged them. However... my instincts are usually fairly accurate, and they're telling me that nobody took your memories, either."

Sam blinked. "Then wait, how would I have lost them, then?"

"I don't know. Something unusual must've happened. Something that's never been done before. And that is why I said that _it depends _if I'm able to heal your memories... because I may, but only if I'm given enough time to figure out what's going on and create a solution."

"I see," said the teen, although he didn't really understand.

Porlyusica gave him a deeper frown than usual. "You've just been told that something happened to you that's never happened before, even in a world with _magic_, and that's all you have to say? You realize since I don't know the cause of your amnesia, I may not be able to heal you, and your memories might not return?"

"Well," said Sam, "basically what you're telling me is that I'm unique. And somehow I don't think that's unusual when you're talking about me."

* * *

The old pink-haired woman showed Sam out the door, and he exited her house to find it was in a clearing of a forest. Actually, the house itself was inside a tree. This made the amnesiac's jaw drop a little, and he wondered how much it cost her to get people to build that. She probably had a lot of trouble with pro-Earth guys.

True to Porlyusica's word, Natsu and Happy were waiting for him on her doorstep (treestep?), although Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

He gave them a small grin. "Hey, guys."

"Sam!" Natsu cried cheerfully, clapping him on the back. "What did she say?"

"Mm, some stuff about the causes of amnesia, people stealing memories, and the fact that I might not ever remember who I am. I liked her."

The wizard and cat started walking out of the clearing in the direction of a dirt path. Sam followed them.

"So what's Fairy Tail like?" he asked. He was curious to find out about the place his new friends worked at.

Natsu grinned widely, showing off pointed teeth in the back of his mouth that Sam hadn't noticed before. He also realized the Dragon Slayer had a red tattoo of what appeared to be a leaping fairy. And come to think of it, hadn't Lucy also had the same tattoo on the back of her hand, except in pink?

"It's really cool," Natsu said fondly. "Everyone's always really weird and happy! There's a lot of different people there, too. There's Gray, Erza, Mirajane, Cana..."

Happy nodded. "Elfman, Bisca, Jet, Droy, Levy..."

"Nab, Macao, Romeo, Wakabe, Lucy..."

Sam sweatdropped. "Okay, I get it. Lots of people. So what do you all do there?"

"Well," the other boy began, "Gray strips and Mirajane makes everyone's food. Elfman usually calls everyone _Man_ a lot, and Levy reads a bunch."

"Aye! And Erza scares everyone!" added Happy helpfully. "She's like a monster! If you even touch her strawberry cake, she'll eat all your fish! Natsu fights her a lot but never wins."

He wasn't sure about the whole _Gray strips_ thing, but he nodded anyway. "Okay. Cool. I think." Sam also made a mental note to stay away from this Erza person. He didn't know who she was, but she sounded like a maniac.

They passed into the woods. The forest's trees were far enough apart that plenty of light shone through the tops, but dense enough that predators could easily hide behind them. It was green and lush, teeming with life. To Sam, it was the polar opposite of snowy and barren Mt. Hokabe, where it seemed only the monstrous Vulcans made their homes. Deer bounded between the rows of trees. Flowering plants and dark moss blossomed along the tree roots.

Sam smiled. The forest seemed like a place he'd want to have a picnic in.

"So, Natsu," he said, and the wizard in question looked at him curiously. "How long was I out, and where are we now?"

The pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer shrugged noncommittally. "Eh, I dunno, something like a day or two."

"Two _days_?" Sam nearly choked. He hadn't thought he'd been _that_ exhausted. Although he didn't remember anything from his previous life, he was sure that had to be a new sleeping record.

"Aye, sir!" said Happy. It seemed to be something of a catch phrase of his. "Everyone at the guild's been worried about you. Getting your magic core drained is pretty serious! Someone like Mirajane will teach you how to control your magic so you don't accidentally unleash it all at once."

"Uh... okay. So, then where are we?"

Natsu grinned. "We're in the woods outside Magnolia! That's the town our guild's in. It's a pretty cool place!"

For a few more minutes, they walked in silence, the path stretching out before them like a tan ribbon. Sam was thinking about what had happened since he'd woken up on the mountain, and he had a sudden thought.

"How many different kinds of magic are there?" he asked.

The blue cat blinked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you guys said that Natsu's a Fire Dragon Slayer, and that gray guy's an Ice Make Mage. Lucy summoned a huge bull-man out of thin air."

Natsu laughed amiably. "Hell if I know! There's a lot."

"Are there any more Dragon Slayers at Fairy Tail?" Sam wondered aloud.

"Nah, not in Fairy Tail. I'm the only one. I've heard about other Dragon Slayers in other guilds, but I haven't met another one yet. People say we're pretty rare."

"Although just a few days ago," spoke up Happy, "we beat up a slave trader who was pretending to be Natsu!"

Natsu nodded, grinning even wider. "Yeah, and that's when we met Lucy!"

"So she's pretty new, too," mused Sam. That came as a bit of a surprise. She'd seemed to fit right in with Natsu and Happy, and even from what little of them he'd seen, they appeared to have a pretty deep trust in each other. Maybe people in Fiore just got along really well. He said, "You guys seem to have a lot of adventures. What else have you done, other than fighting mountain monkeys and beating up slave traders?"

The boy and cat looked at each other and blinked. Then they immediately launched into a plethora of tales, each wild and filled with magical adventure. Sam wasn't sure how many of them were true, but they were all very interesting, and he found himself listening intently. Natsu and Happy had apparently had enough adventures that by the time they'd told them all, they had already emerged from the forest, and the Sun was beginning its gradual descent.

"Sounds like you two have hella fun," Sam quipped with a small smile.

"Being a Fairy Tail mage is great!" Natsu confirmed.

Happy jumped in. "Aye, sir!"

They passed out of the forest and into a fairly large town. It was sprawling and bustling, although unlike any city Sam had seen - - or felt like he'd seen anyway. The first thing that caught his eye were the streets. They were all made of a smooth white stone that was surprisingly soft. Canals crisscrossed through the town, and some citizens floated down them in long, flat boats. Shops, houses, and other buildings made a network of alleys. There were several different city squares, and they were all filled with activity. The wonderful aroma of food drifted everywhere tantalizingly. Surprisingly, trees could often be found on the sides of the streets.

"Whoa," Sam gasped, turning around as they walked so he could see everything. "This is Magnolia? You're right, it is cool!"

Happy raised his hand. "Aye! Just wait until you see Fairy Tail!"

They navigated the streets of Magnolia, which were actually not as confusing as he'd expected. They were set up in a pattern that seemed fairly easy to learn, and there were signs on the corners of streets that pointed to the most important places. Natsu and Happy hardly even glanced at them, but Sam read every one.

Finally, after another fifteen or so minutes, they found themselves in front of a large building that seemed more important than the rest. It was only two stories but nonetheless magnificent in its own right. Its door was a unique pointed half-oval design, painted red and inlaid with a similar design to Porlyusica's home's door. Above the door was a golden, gleaming sign with the words _FAIRY TAIL_ printed on it in large purple letters. On the edge of the sign, facing its middle, were two of the same jumping fairies that Natsu and Lucy had tattoos of. Sam wondered if that was the guild's symbol or something.

"And I'm guessing that's Fairy Tail?" Sam said, jabbing his thumb at the building.

Natsu nodded and said, "Yeah! That's the guild hall! Come on in!"

Then he waltzed up to the uniquely designed doors and promptly gave them a firm kick. Sam's jaw dropped and he turned white as they smashed open.

"WE'RE BAAAAAACK!" the Dragon Slayer roared happily.

Wings grew on Happy's back and he took to the air, shouting, "AYE!"

The brown-haired teen gaped at the pair. He stammered, "D-Did you have to... k-kick them open...?"

"Nope," said Natsu simply.

Sweatdropping at his new friend's total obliviousness to what he'd just done, Sam sighed and followed them into the guild hall. Inside it was a spacious, bar-like lunch room, with two rows of wooden tables leading up to a bottle-covered counter. And there were people everywhere - - people of all different shapes and sizes, all different colors of hair, just goofing around. There was a beefy guy with white hair and enough muscles to make the Hulk consider taking up a new occupation. Sitting at the counter was a young, blue-haired girl in an orange dress, although Sam couldn't tell what she was doing since her back was turned to him. Running around behind the counter, serving and making food and drinks, was a rather beautiful white-haired girl who looked to be about the same age as Natsu. There was also a brunette seated in one of the booths, downing an entire _barrel_ of booze in one gulp.

"Uh..." said Sam, staring at the brunette. "Is it okay for her to drink that much? ...And why doesn't she have a shirt on?"

Happy flapped his wings... well, happily. "Oh, that's just Cana! Nobody really knows how, but she never gets drunk, even if she drinks seven barrels of beer!"

He nearly choked. "She can drink _seven_ of those things? It's weird enough that she can drink _one_!"

"Yeah, well, that's Cana for you." The blue cat seemed completely unperturbed by that fact.

"Oh, Sam!" said Lucy's voice, and he looked to his left to see the blonde standing there, looking greatly relieved. "I was really worried about you! I'm sorry I couldn't go to Porlyusica's - - I would've been there, but Mirajane asked me to help her reorganize the basement. I was just about to go see you since we just got done."

"Hey, Luigi!" Natsu said with a sly smirk.

"IT'S LUCY!" she snapped.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," another, new voice said dryly. Another teen (who again appeared to be the same age as Natsu) came walking up to them, grinning and holding out his hand to Sam. He had hair that was an even darker blue than Macao's... and was almost completely naked. "I heard that another new wizard was joining. As long as you're not as flame-brained as Natsu, you'll be fine."

Natsu glared at him, although it was an almost friendly glare. "Who are you callin' Flame Brain, Snow Cone!?"

Lucy's face morphed into a deadpan. "Gray, your clothes," she sighed.

Gray blinked and looked down at his body, then face-faulted, looking shocked. "Oh, shit!" he cursed, and ran off to a back room behind the counter.

Natsu and Happy snickered.

Sam wasn't sure how to react. "So... that happened."

"Hey, look, a newbie!" someone called from one of the back tables. "Looks like he's a bit younger than usual!"

Macao, who had been sitting beside the speaker, punched his arm lightly. "Shut up, Wakabe," he snickered. "You and I are so old we'll probably have to retire soon, anyway!"

Wakabe slapped his knee in mirth. "Ah, true that, Macao!"

Someone thundered, "DID I HEAR THAT SOMEBODY WISHES TO JOIN FAIRY TAIL!"

Suddenly filling up the bar-like lunch room - - how did Sam not notice it sooner!? - - was an enormous dark shadow, with two glowing yellow eyes. The amnesiac squeaked and made himself as small possible, his eyes expanding to the size of salad bowls.

"A giant!?" he managed to gasp out. His hand slipped into his pocket and closed around the Device.

Natsu shook his head, still smiling. "No, that's just the Master."

"All guilds have one," explained Lucy. "They report to the Guild Council at the end of every month. They have to do that so the guilds don't get out of hand and start going evil."

"Oh." Sam blinked, then stared up again at the giant. He edged back toward the still-open doors. "But wait, I haven't even thought about joining yet!"

Happy looked at him. "You're a wizard, right? And you said Porlyusica might not be able to heal your amnesia, at least not for a long time?"

"Well, yeah, but - -"

"Then you should join Fairy Tail!" said Natsu simply, nodding like it made perfect sense. "You've got nowhere else to go until your memories return, so just join!"

"Uh... but... isn't there, like, a cost or something?"

"Nope," Happy replied. "You just have to be a wizard, say you want to join, and get the tattoo."

"You can get it anywhere on your body and in any color you want," added Lucy, showing him the back of her hand. "See? I got mine here and in pink! It doesn't hurt either - - they just kind of put it on you like a stamp."

"Do they...?" Sam frowned. It was certainly a logical solution to join Fairy Tail. He really didn't have anywhere to go, and he supposed he'd have to rent a room somewhere in the town until his memories returned. He'd have to get a job to pay off the rent, and from what Sam gathered from Natsu and Happy's stories, wizards got money from the clients of the jobs they took.

"WHAT DO YOU SAY?" boomed the giant shadow, and it started shrinking before Sam's eyes. To his surprise, it went from a giant to a short, old little man in about three seconds. The old guy was dressed in orange robes and a cliche pointy wizard's hat, striped orange and white. "Care to join after all?"

Sam stared. "You're a midget."

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_," said the Master.

"But... you were a giant just a few seconds ago."

"Yes," he agreed. "That was my Titan Magic. I can make my body grow by opening certain magic circles. Do you know what kind of magic you use?"

"Well, no," Sam admitted. He pulled the Device out of his pocket and waved it. "But when I killed that Vulcan on Mt. Hokabe, it seemed to come from this thing." He glanced at it with a frown. "I don't even know what it is."

The Titan Mage hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting."

"So, uh... I guess I can join. Natsu and Happy are right, I don't have anywhere to go until my memories return."

"Wonderful!" said the Master, a smile spreading on his small face. He turned around and called to the pretty bartender, "Mirajane! Bring the stamp! We have a new member!"

The white-haired woman ducked underneath the counter and rummaged through what sounded like drawers. Then she found what she was apparently looking for and skipped over to Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Sam, and the Master, a large stamp with the Fairy Tail symbol in her hands.

"Hello, Sam!" Mirajane said kindly. Sam blinked, and she elaborated. "Lucy's already told me about you. I'm glad you're joining us! Where would you like your tattoo, and in what color?"

He had to think about that for a bit. "Um... Would my right calf be fine? And in like, a forest green?"

"Of course!" said the female wizard, and Sam rolled up his jeans so she could stamp the tattoo on that spot. It only took about a second, and when it was finished, the brown-haired teen had the same mark that Natsu and Lucy did. It was warm, though not uncomfortably so - - it was more of a relaxing, homey warmth. It eased his body and soothed his mind.

"There." She gave him a warm smile. "Now you're a part of Fairy Tail!"

And Sam couldn't explain it, but he was beginning to feel that even if his memories never returned, he had found a home.

* * *

**Alright, the "prologue" kinda chapters are finally over, and we can start getting into the action at last - - the good stuff! In this fanfic's next update, we'll get to see Sam embark on his first job... and here it will be original. Sam won't be joining Natsu and Lucy on their Everlue Mansion mission. Instead, he's going to be doing his own thing somewhere. So you have that to look forward to!  
**

Sam: Huh. Being a member of Fairy Tail is kinda nice.

Cana: I know, right!? You can drink all the beer you want to and just pay for it by doing a mission!

Sam: Y-You really need to cut down on the alcohol.

**I hope you enjoyed reading this new chapter of my story, because I certainly liked writing it! I've been getting some really awesome reviews recently, so thank you all very much! And if you haven't followed, faved, or left a review yet, please do so. Although I do not find any of these actions necessary to keep posting chapters, I do appreciate them all very much. Reviews are especially appreciated, as always.**

**Here's to hoping the fifth chapter can come as quickly as this one did!**

**-TheRealEvanSG**


	5. Sam's Solemn Oath

**I apologize for the short wait, everyone! I really should've updated this sooner, but I've been caught up with other fanfictions, homework, and mostly a school play. But even with all those things going on... I'm not gonna let this become a dead fic! I'm gonna keep on postin'! I won't let my small congregation of fans down! Now that that's settled, I hope you're ready for the next chapter of the ****_Atlas_**** series...**

***Please note that the above was written several months ago and I'm too lazy to change it.**

**Chapter 5 start!**

* * *

Jobs and Drunks  


Sam's Solemn Oath!

* * *

**Previously on _Atlas, A Tale of Five Wizards:_**

_"Hello, Sam!" Mirajane said kindly. Sam blinked, and she elaborated. "Lucy's already told me about you. I'm glad you're joining us! Where would you like your tattoo, and in what color?"_

_He had to think about that for a bit. "Um... Would my right calf be fine? And in like, a forest green?"_

_"Of course!" said the female wizard, and Sam rolled up his jeans so she could stamp the tattoo on that spot. It only took about a second, and when it was finished, the brown-haired teen had the same mark that Natsu and Lucy did. It was warm, though not uncomfortably so - - it was more of a relaxing, homey warmth. It eased his body and soothed his mind._

_"There." She gave him a warm smile. "Now you're a part of Fairy Tail!"_

_And Sam couldn't explain it, but he was beginning to feel that even if his memories never returned, he had found a home._

"So the first thing I should do is pick a job, right?" Sam asked Lucy.

She shrugged. "That'd help. It doesn't look like you have very much money on you, so you're not gonna last long in Fiore otherwise. Getting a job would certainly be an easy way to make a couple thousand Jewels."

"Jewels?"

"Fiore's currency," Lucy said in a deadpan. "Wow, your amnesia is that bad?"

Sam sighed. "Look, I didn't even know what Fiore _was_ until you guys told me. How was I supposed to know its currency?"

"Fair point. In any case, the job board is over there." The blonde pointed to the right side of the guild, where a Native American-looking fellow stood staring at a large board in annoyance. "I'd recommend asking one of our other members to come with you, though, so they can show you the ropes... and maybe help you learn how to use your magic."

Cana, the woman wearing just a bra as a top and guzzling barrels of booze, slammed her most recent mug on the counter. "I'll take the newbie," she offered with a wide grin. "He seems like a cool guy - - and I could use some cash myself."

"I'm right here, ya know," Sam muttered with a twitch of his eye.

Natsu, who had been butting heads with Gray, frowned in disappointment. "Aw, man! I wanted to fight you!"

Sam gulped and pointed at himself. "Me?" he said in a small voice.

"Yeah, who else?"

"Why?"

"You said you defeated one of those Vulcans. I wanna see how strong you are!"

Cana snorted and stepped up to Sam, dragging the poor boy to the Job Board. "Natsu's a fighting freak," the drunk muttered with a fond eye roll. "He challenges just about everybody to a fight. Anyone, anytime. Honestly, it would've been an insult if he _didn't_ want to fight you."

"Is... that so?" Sam said weakly, sweatdropping as he was dragged across the floor. Maybe life at Fairy Tail wasn't suited for him after all. He didn't want to have to deal with a crazy, battle-oriented teenager all day and everyday. He didn't quite know how to deal with that.

They stopped in front of the board, standing next to the Native American-looking dude. "See a job you want?" said Cana.

Sam scanned the board. He was surprised at just how wide a range of jobs there _were_. The brown-haired teen had kind of expected the jobs to all involve fighting, but no - - there were indeed fighting ones, but there were also some asking to find various lost objects, to provide special effects for musicals, and more. It was a bit overwhelming.

Sam wasn't sure where to start.

"For a beginner wizard," Cana spoke up, shifting her shoulders back, "it may be better for you to pick a job that isn't too hard." She tapped a sheet of paper near the left side of the board. "What about this one? Some guy in east Hargeon wants his fortune told. I could do that easily enough myself, but there wouldn't be much for you to - -"

One of the jobs caught Sam's eye. He pointed at one just above the bottom. "Hey, this one looks cool!"

Cana blinked. "_Wizards needed ASAP_!" she read. "_Mysterious thieves are digging up graves here in Willow Village and are making off with the corpses. Please find and subdue these grave robbers before their next attack. Contact Mayor Woodrow when you arrive. _You want to fight grave robbers?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"But... I mean, do you know how to use your magic?"

"No," Sam admitted, "but getting in a fight is as good a way to learn it as any, right?" He looked away from her with a nervous frown. _Besides, I'm gonna need all the practice I can get if I want to survive Natsu's constant challenges..._

His new partner snorted. "Well, I suppose that's true. If that's the job you want to take on, it's not my place to stop ya. Now, to accept this, we just hand it to Mirajane, who'll sign us off."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Isn't she the girl who gave me my tattoo?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's Mira. She also works the counter, serving everybody their food and drinks. She used to be one of our strongest wizards, but..." Cana's expression saddened. "Something... really bad happened years ago, and it wasn't exactly pleasant for Mirajane. She lost her ability or desire - - not sure which - - to use her magic, and since then she's been our pretty bartender."

"Oh." The green-eyed teen wasn't sure what to say. "Well, I guess let's... just hand this in, huh?"

"Definitely!" Cana agreed, her mood immediately brightening. "If you really want to do this job, let's go out and raise hell on those stupid grave robbers! Who knows? They might even have good beer in Willow Village."

* * *

After showing Mirajane the job sheet, Cana and Sam gathered some necessary supplies in a backpack. Cana ordered four sandwiches to go and some bottled water from the bar. Among the other contents of the backpack were the following: Sam's strange Device, a pack of rather unique-looking playing cards, a stack of Jewels, and some reading material.

"How are we going to get to Willow Village?" asked Sam curiously as they exited the guild.

Cana hummed. "Good question. It's a pretty important place. It's almost smack dab in the middle of Fiore, so it's a major trading point."

"Yeah, so?"

"So the train station should be our first stop. Crash course in transportation for the amnesiac - - if you can take a train, take one. They're the fastest things in Fiore and can usually get you where you want to go in under two hours. They're not too expensive, either. Well, they used to be until people boycotted them like ten years ago."

They walked to the nearest train station, which was located a good ten or so blocks away from the Guild Hall. While they walked, Cana droned on and on about everyone in the guild and all their different types of magic. Sam tried to keep up, in terms of both speed and conversation. But the brunette's energy seemed to know no bounds. He could hardly have gotten a word in edgewise, even if he'd wanted to, but if he had Cana probably wouldn't have even heard it. She was one of the most animated talkers Sam had ever seen. She was just one of those people who spoke not only with her mouth, but with her hands and arms and her entire body, really. And that wasn't even when the subject (somehow) changed to booze.

"Ah, liquor's the best," said Cana dreamily, staring at her hand forlornly, as if she wished she still had a bucket with her. "Do you drink, Sam?"

He gazed up at her, appalled. "What!? Of course not - -"

"Shame," she said, evidently not aware that Sam's sentence had not ended. "I wanted to share a bottle of my favorite brand with you when we get back. Ah, well. You probably wouldn't like it anyway. Hard stuff, it is. It would make even an experienced drinker's head spin after the first pint, but not me - - I don't start feeling the alcohol until the twentieth."

_Twentieth? _thought Sam, his jaw dropping. _This girl's nuts. Just what kind of body does she have, anyway?_

"Comes from a brewery on the northeast shore of Fiore. Beautiful place, too. I once took a job as a fill-in waiter up there, once, and you wouldn't _believe _how crazy those dudes were. They made Fairy Tail's parties look like water balloon fights. The entire friggin' city had a hangover when I left, no joke. It was awesome."

As her story was shortening up, Sam saw before them what was clearly the train station, rising up at the end of the street. It was a lot larger than Sam had expected. He'd thought it was going to be one of those old-style 1800's stations, with just a small little depot and a rusty train. But it was obvious from the first glance that it was much more than that. Clearly a lot of money had been poured into it, because it was tall and modern, with white-painted walls and a small crowd queuing to get inside.

"Whoa," Sam said. "Looks like a popular place."

Cana shrugged, unimpressed. "Like I said, it's the number one way to get quickly across Fiore. And there's a lot of dudes here in Magnolia who've got family in other cities."

They melted in with the other people waiting in line. It took about ten or so more minutes for them to get to the ticket booth. When they did, Cana simply flashed the guy at the counter her guild mark. His eyebrows shot up. "Fairy Tail, eh?" he said with a laugh. "Go right ahead." He waved them inside, then called out for the next customer. Cana smirked at Sam, who had looked questioningly at her before stepping inside the station.

"We helped out the station manager with a problem involving his daughter, some ancient ruins, and a few surprisingly perverted plants," she explained smugly. "As thanks we all get free passes wherever we want to go. We still have to pay for the return ticket, though."

Sam blinked. "That's pretty nice of him."

"Yeah, well, Magnolia's a pretty sweet town in general. You'll love it here, I'm sure."

They lugged their bags into the passenger train idling in the station, chose a seat, and slid their stuff onto a shelf above them. Then they waited for the rest of the passengers to board. Cana made some more small talk, explaining little stuff about the world of Fiore, like how mages made up ten percent of the population, and bigger stuff like the Royal Family and the Magic Council. She also narrated many adventures she'd had both alone and with other guild members.

"You know, Sam," she said as the train finally started to roll out of the station, "you're a pretty darn good listener. I appreciate that in a guy. Natsu and Gray would probably just ignore me and start fighting with each other, and Elfman would just worry about his sisters - - er, sister, and pay me no attention; but nothing goes in your ear and out the other. You're a hell of a dude."

Sam rubbed the side of his head awkwardly. "You... think so?"

"Sure I do. And trust me, I've met plenty men in my day. You're gonna make some girl happy some day, kid."

The amnesiac thought about that. Back home, wherever that was, did he have a girlfriend? Somehow he didn't think so, but it was a nice notion. It also distilled a cold sense of melancholy in him. The train seemed darker and gloomier, and his small smile washed into a frown.

"Cana," he said; the Card Mage had finally paused in her unstoppable talking. "Do you really think I could fit in with Fairy Tail? From the stories I've heard from you and Natsu, everyone seems a lot stronger than me."

"We all had to start somewhere." She snorted. "Don't worry about not knowing how to use your magic. Once you master the first spell, the rest all come easy. Just practice, practice, practice, and train your body, too - - the Master told us once that a real wizard should have a strong body as well as strong magic. You never know what kind of situation you're gonna get yourself into in this profession."

Sam fished the Device out of his pocket, switched it on, and gazed into its strange screen. The time blazed up at him: _1:30_.

Could he really learn his magic quickly enough to catch up to Natsu, Lucy, Cana and the others? He remembered how smoothly and gracefully Natsu had fought the Vulcans on Mt. Hokabe, and how second-nature the guild-wide brawl had been. It seemed like a monumental task. Even so, Sam didn't want to end up being useless to the other Fairy Tail members. He squeezed his hand around the Device tightly and made a solemn vow: _I will become strong, so I can help my friends like they helped me. This I swear_.

If Cana thought his silence to be strange, she didn't say anything.

* * *

**After much too long a break, I've finally updated this. ****If you haven't realized it by now, I'm not exactly the greatest at getting chapters done quickly.**

**Go ahead and follow and favorite this story if you've liked it so far, I guess. You can do whatever the hell you want. I don't really care. By the way, if anybody wants to play Minecraft with me, I've finally got that! So just tell me what the IP of the server you play on is and I'll join if I can. Anyway, reviews are also very much appreciated and really keep me going! I love to know what you guys think about my writing. Plus you could tell me about something I may not have realized that I messed up in the chapter, such as an incomplete sentence or something that doesn't quite make sense.**

Sam: Hey, author guy! You were gone WAY TOO LONG! I was beginning to think that _you'd_ gotten amnesia and forgotten about this story or something!

Cana: Eh, whatever. Better late than never, amiright? *drinks an entire barrel of booze in one gulp*

Sam: ...You're a monster, you know that, Cana?

**Until next chapter.**

**-TheRealEvanSG**


End file.
